‘Oranges and Sunshine’ Poster: Could This Film Help Emily Watson’s Oscar Chances Elsewhere?

I previously showed you the trailer for Oranges and Sunshine, which stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham and centers on the real-life struggle of social worker Margaret Humphreys (Watson). Today I have the first look at the poster for you and while I’m not sure this film is going to move the dial too much I was starting to think it could help Watson’s Oscar chances with her role in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

Oranges and Sunshine hits theaters on October 21 and while the Cohen Media Group may not have much of a chance of securing a nomination for this film unless it receives overwhelming critical support, if the performances are good enough they could spark a tide of interest in Watson that could carryover to War Horse in December. You know, one of those “she was great in Oranges and Sunshine, but she’ll probably get the nom for War Horse” kind of deals. If you ask me, the same thing happened just last year with Annette Bening. She was far better in Mother and Child than she was in The Kids Are All Right (where she was overshadowed by Julianne Moore).

I currently have Watson in the #9 slot in my Best Supporting Actress predictions, primarily because the film is an entirely unknown quantity, but there is certainly room to move in a category that is certainly still up for grabs.

Nevertheless, I’m just spit-balling here. Oranges and Sunshine hits theaters in NY and LA, like I said, on October 21. I’ve included the full synopsis just below the poster.

Photo: Cohen Media Group

Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals of recent times: the deportation of thousands of children from the United Kingdom to Australia.

Almost single-handedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and drew worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children’s homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine: they got hard labour and life in institutions.